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April 5, 2008
April 5, 2008
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God's Gift of Eternal Life
The purpose of this group is to accurately describe how one may
receive the free gift of eternal life and to explore the Word of God
in such a way that it both edifies and contributes to the spiritual
growth of believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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Why are we here? Why did God create mankind?
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Why are we here? Why did God create mankind?
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TicketToHeaven said:
on April 26, 2008 07:36 PM ET
edited on February 4, 2009 01:52 PM ET
The following
message is for the edification of Christians who would like to
know more about why God created mankind, the fall of mankind and
God’s graceful offer of the free gift of eternal
life. This article is a brief overview of the angelic
conflict and how mankind came to be involved; I will also
provide links that will lead you to websites that will give you
more of the details including scripture references.
Why are we here? Why did God
create mankind?
Are you aware that
there is a war going on in Heaven? Have you ever wondered how
immortal beings would fight a war? Unlike wars fought
by the human race, they would most likely go to battle using
primarily their intellect and mental capabilities since they would
not be able to kill themselves off. Well, that is the kind of
war that started in Heaven between the immortal angelic beings
long before mankind came into the picture and this war continues
to rage on even today.
God did not give us
all the details about eternity-past but we do know from the Bible
that He created an innumerable host of immortal beings called
Angels (
Colossians 1:16
) long before the
events of Genesis 1. One common denominator between angelic
beings and the human race is God gave them and us volition which
in essence gave them, like us, the power to choose for or against
God. When the Angels were created by God, they were made
perfect and He gave them a perfect environment to live
in. However, at some point, the entire angelic creation made a choice and two
opposing categories of angels developed,
elect and
fallen.
This
angelic conflict started when
Satan, known then as
“Lucifer, son of the morning” (
Isaiah 14:12
), made a volitional
decision to turn against God, in essence, Satan wanted to take
over heaven and he managed to get one third of the angels to
follow him. The conflict raged between Satan’s
followers and the angels who chose to stick with God. At some
point, God had to crack down on Satan and his followers so a court
was convened and a trial began which ultimately culminated in a
guilty verdict and Satan and his followers were sentenced to the
lake of fire but they have not yet
been cast into it. Why wasn’t their sentence carried
out? Because Satan appealed his sentence by raising an
objection to it making insinuations that God was an unfair and
unjust God: How can a loving God cast his creatures into the
lake of fire?
God’s answer to
Satan’s appeal was the creation of mankind who He created
lower than angels with limited intellect and power; He confined
man to one small restored planet; yet man would be made in the
image and likeness
of God, both male and
female. Mankind's purpose therefore, is to resolve the
angelic conflict during this extended appeal period of Satan and
his followers.
As I indicated
earlier, mankind, like the angelic beings were given free
will. The reason for providing volition is God would be able
to provide a test so they could chose for or against
Him. These new inferior beings would demonstrate to the
entire angelic host (fallen and elect) that God’s
justice is fair, correctly dished out and consistent with all the
attributes of
His essence.
God created the male
first and called him Adam, shortly thereafter, He made the female
and Adam called her Eve. Adam was given rulership over planet
earth and God gave both Adam and Eve a perfect environment to live
in (the Garden of Eden). Mankind now had what the
Angels had at their beginning. God would be able to show
Satan and his followers how a loving God can save a fallen
creature and still maintain His perfect righteousness. God
set up a test for mankind so man would be able to exercise free
will (Genesis
2:16
,
17
). Adam and
Eve’s test was that they could eat from any tree of the
garden except “the tree of the knowledge of good
[blessing] and evil [cursing];” if they did,
they would surely die. Keep in mind that God gave Adam this
mandate before He made Eve, evidently this made it Adams
responsibility to tell Eve not to eat of that tree. This
probation would give Adam & Eve the opportunity to make a
choice for or against God (just as the angels had been
given). It is important to note that God doesn’t
coerce obedience from angels or mankind. Like the angels, man
is free to choose obedience or disobedience to God’s mandates.
Adam and Eve
eventually failed the test by eating the forbidden
fruit. Although Eve was deceived by Satan (Genesis
3:4
,
5
), Adam was not
deceived, shortly after Eve ate it, Adam ate of the forbidden
fruit also, without being tricked into doing so. Until this
point in time, Adam and Eve knew only “good”
(referring to blessing), now, because of their
disobedience, they also know “evil” (referring to
cursing). This sin, the only sin they could commit,
caused both Adam and Eve an immediate spiritual death
(separation from God), just as God had told Adam it would
happen; their bodies also began to gradually age and would
eventually die. Also, immediately their eyes were opened to evil,
they were naked and now ashamed (Genesis
3:7
compared to
2:25
). They attempted
to camouflage themselves so God would not be able to see them.
This loss of relationship with God, put mankind in the same
kind of predicament as the fallen angels had brought upon
themselves.
Before they sinned,
Adam was the ruler of this world, however, when he disobeyed God
and ate the forbidden fruit, the deed to planet earth was turned
over to Satan (
2 Cor. 4:4
). Satan, with
his evil policy towards mankind became the temporary ruler of this
world. Satan thought he had won his appeal; however, Satan
had only won the first round.
Now that Adam &
Eve, out of their own free will, had chosen to be disobedient to
God, which caused their relationship with God to be severed;
…the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like
one of Us, knowing good and evil,
he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand
and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live
forever.” (
Genesis 3:22
) Therefore, they
had to be removed from the Garden. However, the
Justice of God provided them with a way
out of this mess. God promised them He would send a Redeemer
which would provide them and their progeny the opportunity to have
an eternal relationship with Him.
If Adam and Eve would
decide to take God up on His offer, they only needed to, by faith,
trust in His promise to send them a Redeemer and they would be
saved; the same offer would be available to all their
offspring. The Bible tells us Adam and Eve did trust in
God’s promise, when they did, their human spirit was made
alive again, restoring their relationship with God. Again,
the appeals process could have ended with this decision that
inferior man made to take God up on his offer of salvation.
However, although Adam
and Eve’s human spirit was made alive again, their physical
lives continued for hundreds of years; during this time they would
have many children. God’s plan for the human race all
along was for them to multiply and their offspring could then make
their own individual choice of “for” or
“against” God in that Adam’s original sin is
imputed to all his progeny,
meaning, they all (including us today) would be born
spiritually dead (separation from God), totally incapable
of having any kind of relationship with God. Again,
God’s Justice would provide them the opportunity to be saved
by receiving the gift of everlasting life as soon as they believed
in the coming of the Redeemer.
This plan of
God’s would clearly show the fallen and even the elect
angels that He is a just and fair God by allowing any member of
this inferior human race of beings, from the time they reached the
age of
accountability to their last dying
breath, to make a free will decision to take God up on the same
offer He gave to Adam and Eve and be eternally saved.
What must one do to
receive God’s gift of eternal life today? Jesus made it
very clear when he said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he
who believes in Me has everlasting life” (
John
6:47
NKJV). Although
it’s certainly OK to do so for one’s own comfort,
it’s not necessary to say a verbal or silent prayer
acknowledging to God that you are trusting, by faith alone,
in Jesus Christ alone foreternal life. Why? Because, the
thought, the mental act of believing in Christ is all that is
needed, the very second a person crosses the line from being an
unbeliever to a believer, salvation is complete, you have it, and
it can never be lost (
John 10:28-30). Eternal life is
the object in salvation, the act of believing actually comes
before you can think of what to say to God. Look again at
what John 6:47 says: “…he who believes in Me,
has everlasting life,” it doesn’t say will
have, it says has. The magnificence of Gods
omniscience reads your thought of belief instantly as you think
it. Boom!
I encourage you to
review the following articles that support what you’ve just
read, besides, it’s always good to expand upon our knowledge
of the enemy:
How were people
saved before Jesus came?
:
by Bob Bryant
Is Evangelism
Merely a Life and Death Matter?
: by John Niemelä,
Th.M. and Ph.D.
The following link is
a gospel message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven
, it was written for
anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.
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10
posts
by 5
users
Post #10
Chameleon
said:
on July 3, 2008 11:30 AM ET
A wonderful message, here. Such a refreshing way of explaining the'fall of man,' and the resulting 'separation' from God. The Lord has blessed you with an insight to bring to light important aspects of this 'fall.' It took me a long time to understand, 'you shall surely die,' and its spiritual connotations. And as far as the 'fallen' angels, it bafles me that in heaven or on the earth, anyone would choose a 'created' being over the Creator, and yet they did, and, sadly, so does humankind today. Yes, we have 'free choice,' today, but for me God is the only choice. Great topic.
Reply to Post
Post #9
LaVErne321
said:
on June 19, 2008 03:50 PM ET
edited on November 19, 2008 12:29 PM ET
edited on November 19, 2008 12:29 PM ET
CHRISTIAN WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS ...An Angel says, 'Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice.'
1. Pray2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and unclutter your life.
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns . If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety . If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19 Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good 'Thank you Jesus.'
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33 Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
36 . Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU. 'If God is for us, who can be against us?' (Romans 8:31)
Post #8
TicketToHeaven
said:
on May 2, 2008 04:25 AM ET
edited on November 19, 2008 01:56 PM ET
edited on November 19, 2008 01:56 PM ET
To: All
I just discovered a problem
with some of the links in my posts. To further explain some
of the words and phrases that I use in my posts, I provide a
hyperlink to an
“Annotated Glossary of Biblical Christianity
” provided
by Chafer Theological Seminary which provides an expanded
definition; these definitions also have bible verse references
listed as links, however, the verse links are not working
properly when using Internet Explorer (when you place your
cursor over the passage, it should just automatically pop-up
but it’s not working properly for some
reason). A manual work around until it gets fixed
would be to copy the verse and go to
BibleGateway.com
and paste it in their
“Search Box” then click “Update.”
However, if you have the
Mozilla Firefox
browser installed on your
computer (an excellent free browser), use it and the
pop-up verses will work fine; all you need to do is move your
curser over the verse and it will automatically pop-up, you
don’t even need to click on the link.
Of course, you could just
grab your Bible and look up the passages.
Mark
Post #7
TicketToHeaven
replied to
LsuEduMsn's
Post #6
:
on April 30, 2008 04:40 AM ET
on April 29, 2008 07:
Someone said recently that Peter and Mary were both in Acts and received the Holy Spirit. Also there are several places where folks were baptized by going "Under" the water. Is that true that Peter and Mary received the Holy Spirit?
.
That makes me take pause and think and read - if they had to do it then there must be a reason we are told to be born of the water and the spirit? In the examples were they baptized by going down or under the water?
.
Hi Gary,
The Fathers promised baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5) was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, on that day, all believers in Christ everywhere (Peter, Mary, Jews and Gentiles - Acts 2:4) were filled with (received) the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit indwelt them all). The Holy Spirit indwells all believers in the Church Age the very moment one believes in Jesus Christ for eternal life.
Water baptism is not necessary as a means of obtaining eternal life. All that is necessary is faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. The following Chafer Theological Seminary journal article titled: “Water Baptism and Eternal Life” will give you a good understanding about baptisms.
Mark
Post #6
on April 29, 2008 07:34 AM ET
Helllo,
Someone said recently that Peter and Mary were both in Acts and received the Holy Spirit. Also there are several places where folks were baptized by going "Under" the water. Is that true that Peter and Mary received the Holy Spirit?
.
That makes me take pause and think and read - if they had to do it then there must be a reason we are told to be born of the water and the spirit? In the examples were they baptized by going down or under the water?
.
I enjoy asking questions and stating scriptures in a civil manner.
.
Regards ~ Gary Over In Computer Tips
Post #5
TicketToHeaven
replied to
LsuEduMsn's
Post #4
:
on April 29, 2008 12:41 AM ET
LsuEduMsn said: How does the scriptures fit in where the Bible says, "Except you be born of the Water and The Spirit?" Does that key word "except" require more than just believing?
.
Hi Gary,
Nothing more than “believing” is required.
John 3:5 uses the word “except” in the King James Version. A more up-to-date word would be “unless” as seen in the New King James Version.
John 3:5 KJV “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
John 3:5 NKJV“Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
Jesus used the phrase “born of water” to refer to physical birth. He then used the contrasting phrase “of the Spirit” in KJV (“the Spirit” in NKJV) to refer to spiritual birth which happens the moment a person believes in Christ for eternal life (salvation).
Jesus said: “…Except (unless) a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 KJV) The theological term for “born again” is regeneration.
Mark
Post #4
on April 28, 2008 07:36 AM ET
Hello,
"Jesus made it very clear when he said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47 NKJV). Although it’s certainly OK to do so for one’s own comfort, it’s not necessary to say a verbal or silent prayer acknowledging to God that you are trusting, by faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone foreternal life"
I sure wish I had more faith. How does the scriptures fit in where the Bible says, "Except you be born of the Water and The Spirit?" Does that key word "except" require more than just believing?
.
Regards ~ Gary Over In Computer Tips
Post #3
TicketToHeaven
replied to
LsuEduMsn's
Post #2
:
on April 28, 2008 02:21 AM ET
LsuEduMsn said:
on April 27, 2008 03:40 PM EST
How are we affected by the seven (7) dispensations and which one are we in?
Hi LsuEduMsn,
“How are we affected by the 7 dispensations?” One major difference is all Church Age believers have the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, no other dispensation had this. The following article: Dispensational Theology — by Phillip Heideman, Th.M., (Chafer Theological Seminary) will provide you a more detailed overview of dispensationalism.
In every dispensation, the plan of salvation is identical—God saves man by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (before the 1st advent of Christ, it was believing in the coming of Christ—The Redeemer).
“…which one are we in?” Over the years, there has developed different models regarding the naming of Dispensations; I’m accustomed to a model with six dispensations:
1. Age of the Gentiles = Creation of Adam to Exodus from Egypt 1441 B.C.
2. Age of Israel = Exodus to 1st Advent
3. Hypostatic Union = 1st Advent to Ascension
4. Church Age = Ascension to Rapture of the Church
5. Tribulation = Rapture to 2nd Advent
6. Millennium = 2nd Advent to Great White Throne Judgment
We are currently in the “Church Age”. The traditional names for the seven dispensations are: the Dispensation of Innocence, followed by the Dispensations of Conscience, Civil Government, Promise, Mosaic Law, Grace, and the Millennial Kingdom. If this is the model you were referring to, we’re in the Dispensation of Grace.
Mark
